MIA Core Electives

The MIA offers a diverse and flexible range of elective core courses that allow you to pursue your personal interests and develop your own academic and professional profile. The MIA’s courses electives (24-36 ECTS) are again structured along the three pillars and serve to deepen the thematic, methodological and practice-oriented subjects taught in the compulsory courses.

Thematic Pillar

Courses in this pillar provide you with in-depth coverage of conceptual, theoretical and empirical issues in International Affairs. You complete at least one and up to five courses in this area. At the same time, you may choose to pursue one of the following clusters of specialization:

This cluster focuses on traditional International Affairs topics such as conflict prevention, peace enforcement, nuclearization, trade wars, humanitarian intervention, international criminal tribunals, and refugee crisis management but also on foreign policy of nation-states and external action of regional or international organizations. Topics such as diplomacy but also the (global) private security market and cybersecurity are included, too. Courses in this cluster are for instance, “Foreign Policy Strategies” or “Democratization and Security Sector Reform”.

This cluster seeks to understand the foundations of democratic and responsive decision-making at various levels, be it in the realm of politics or business. Courses tackle related topics, such as authoritarianism, corruption, digital democracy, corporate management, electoral integrity, citizenship, arms trade, and (global) justice. Courses in this cluster include, for instance, “Informal Governance” or “Internet Governance”.

This cluster addresses the complex nexus of economic conditions and trends, (inter-)national politics and institutions, business and financial interests and civil society. It focuses on international trade relations and more specifically on the international flow of goods, services, and production factors, which capture migration and international capital flows. Public policy issues such as tax competition and evasion are also addressed. Courses in this cluster are, for instance, “International Corporate Governance” or “The Future of Work”.

This cluster considers the economic, political, social and environmental dimensions when addressing development and sustainability issues, including (economic) growth, environmental problems such as climate change, health, fair trade, social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, foreign aid, and sustainable consumption. Issues pertaining to intellectual property are viewed as an integral part of development, too. Courses in this cluster are for instance, “Global Environmenal Politics” or “Multilevel Energy and Climate Governance”.

Methodological Pillar

Strengthening your methodological competencies to equip you with the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world, these courses focus on advanced data science and research design skills. You may complete up to four courses in this pillar, but there is no minimum requirement. Courses include, for instance, “Empirical Policy Evaluation”, “Game Theory and Applications” or “Experimental Methods and Causal Inference”.

Professional Pillar

Courses in this pillar are designed in the innovative format of a "Consultancy Course" and allow you to work on real-life problems and translate your disciplinary knowledge into practice while cooperating with relevant practitioners and potential future employers. You attend one professional course. Consultancy courses include offers on, for instance, “Analysing Political Risk” or “Development Cooperation”.

The independent electives (up to 8 ECTS) can be fulfilled with courses from other Master’s programmes or with additional MIA core electives.